During a short press conference earlier today, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein handed down indictments for 12 Russian officials responsible for hacking the DNC. Rosenstein was matter-of-fact during the press conference and took pains to keep it above the fray of politics. He chose not to speak for the President or his feelings on the matter, speculate on how the hacking affected voting, or what it meant in light of the President meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Rosenstein was professional in his presentation, insisted that the indictments were based only on the facts the special counsel had gathered, and the law as it applies to those facts. It was impressive because while Democrats and Republicans endeavor to use the special counsel as a political football, the special counsel investigation itself seems to be the only place that isn’t infected by politics.

“When we confront foreign interference in American elections, it is important for us to avoid thinking politically as Republicans or Democrats and instead to think patriotically as Americans. Our response must not depend on who was victimized.”

And that’s the way it ought to be.

Granted, both sides didn’t waste any time on social media in jockeying for how the indictments support their position (there is evidence in the indictment that Guccifer 2.0 was in communications with a senior member of the Trump administration, and an unnamed Republican Congressional candidate asked Guccifer for intel on his opponent), but Rosenstein, nevertheless, kept this about the facts.

I suspect that, politically, I would not agree on many issues with Rosenstein, but I respect an honest lawman, and I appreciate how he has handled the special counsel, so far, given the incredibly difficult position he is in (Democrats have lots of expectations, while Trump and the Republicans are constantly demeaning and undermining the investigation). By maintaining a level of sober professionalism, it at least makes it more difficult for either side to combat the facts, and while Trump supporters will never be convinced of certain things, most of the rest of the country fully understands and appreciates that the Russians did indeed interfere with our elections. We can speculate all we want about the Trump campaign’s role in that interference (and I am convinced that it had one), but I appreciate that Rosenstein and Mueller are gathering facts before making any conclusions because, even in the fake news era, facts still hold some power.

Also, this:

"…on or about July 27, 2016, the Conspirators attempted after hours to spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain … used by Clinton's personal office." https://t.co/CVxOTdX6Vn